[CupCake]

I haven't played a video game in a long time. I used to spend way too much of my time as a kid in front of those things, but I enjoyed it. I finished off a game several months ago and swore off them forever. I figured they were time-wasters and I should probably be doing something more productive with my life. I felt confident with that decision then.

Lately however a friend has been telling me about all these games he's been playing and he's giving me the itch to play again. I've been getting bored and I've been eyeballing Starcraft 2 ever since it came out.

This friend of mine seems to live a pretty slack lifestyle. Games are a big part of his life and I don't want that to happen to me. I'm afraid that once I start playing I'll fall into a bad lifestyle. I'm pretty torn about "going back". Part of me says I should do things if I enjoy them, but I also know that that sort of "hobby" can be pretty addictive, isolating, and destructive.

So what are your thoughts on video games and their effects on lifestyle? Do you know many people who have been consumed by them? Do you know anyone who successfully plays them in moderation and still maintains a good lifestyle?

[November]

Any hobby is fine, as long as it remains a hobby.

If you're living an interesting life, video games just won't be fulfilling to you. I used to game a lot back in high school, but after I got interested in business and seduction, I stopped playing video games. What are you doing professionally right now? Do have any other hobbies outside of gaming?

[Aliblahba]

I've used video games to fill gaps between jobs when the money is tight. Nothing like burning up 120 hours on FFXII. Saved me money by staying out of the bars or running gas out of my truck. Their only addictive if you let them be.

I'm ADD, so sometimes playing a game for an hour or so helps relieve stress when I'm agro about something.

[Vitriol]

From the time I was really young until I was about 17 or 18 I spent A LOT of my free time playing video games. By the time I was in college I basically quit cold turkey and have barely even attempted to play any of them since.

I think they're okay for young kids, but once you're an adult and can do things that actually matter with your life they become a waste of time. Since quitting I've never felt like I should have spent more time sitting around with a piece of plastic in my hands.

Aliblahba Wrote:

I've used video games to fill gaps between jobs when the money is tight.

If your an adult this is probably the best idea. Use them only when you don't have much money and have to kill time sitting around between jobs.

[Parlay44]

I just softmodded(hacked) my Wii for my kid. Now he can play games from a USB hard drive. He loves it.

[Dash Global]

IF you enjoy video games (i do) than play them and enjoy life / have fun. Do what you wanna do.

They are only a problem if you let them be a problem.

[Andreas]

I play video games and i realised that game developers just manipulate people into thinking they are achieving things.

Example: remember when the Atari was out? What type of games did you play? They were very simple games. The goal was to just finish the game untill you kill the final boss

Now though Sony with the playstation 3 they release games in which they have "achievements" aka trophies. You finish the game and then you discover that there are trophies to achieve when you perform task within a game. There is more though. Game developers manipulate people with other ways like:

- Beat the game and then restart the story mode and achieve more things
- Make online gaming with ridiculous achievements (e.g do 100 kills in each of 10 modes/difficulties)
- Making Leaderboards to show the best players
- Make the game with extended or endless story mode and achievements like WoW
- Organise online tournaments
- Make the graphics so good and copy rich and adventurous people's lifestyles to satisfy player's envy for things (e.g GTA and Gran Turismo)
- Purposefully creating flawed graphics and glitches to keep gamers unsatisfied and then "satisfy" them with the next coming version of the game.
- Creating levels in the game which must be played again to move to a higher level

These are few of manipulative techniques used among many others.

I suggest you try games like Limbo. Limbo is the kind of game where you have to reach a place and you have basic controls like , "Jump" and "Grab". Its like a trial and error thing which requires a bit of thinking. I like it.

[Gmac]

Agree with AliB. As long as it's an outlet and remains a hobby and not an addiction.. you're fine. It's an outlet for me now, but I was addicted hardcore in the past.

[Caligula]

A couple of times a year I'll get a game and play the hell out of it for a few days. Completed Deus Ex Revolutions (nice story) in a couple of days during hurricane Irene and played Skyrim (fun gameplay) when it came out. It's good, cheap entertainment.

But I almost always get tired of a game after a few nights of playing. Most games end up being about doing the same thing over and over - it starts to feel like work. I'm very aware that the sense of achievement these games feed you is hollow so I don't get hooked into the hedonic treadmill easily.

It's a more wholesome waste of time than watching shitty TV.

I never play games on my phone since I prefer to read RSS feeds or ebooks during downtime.

[mofo]

waste of life

[Dash Global]

(12-18-2011 01:20 PM)mofo Wrote:  

waste of life

its a waste of life to not do the things you enjoy.

[rozayINTL]

Balance is everything.

However..
They are a complete waste of time (like watching television) compared to other things that you could be doing with your life. At the very least you could be reading a novel, learning a new language, reading the roosh form bettering your international pussy obtaining abilities, going for a jog, learning how to cook shit. I don't know. Relative to other activities; total fucking waste of time. Just saying.

I wish it wasn't the case.
Still in moderation it's cool.

[mofo]

(12-18-2011 01:23 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(12-18-2011 01:20 PM)mofo Wrote:  

waste of life

its a waste of life to not do the things you enjoy.

I enjoy playing video games. I just enjoy doing other things more.

[Dash Global]

(12-18-2011 02:05 PM)mofo Wrote:  

(12-18-2011 01:23 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(12-18-2011 01:20 PM)mofo Wrote:  

waste of life

its a waste of life to not do the things you enjoy.

I enjoy playing video games. I just enjoy doing other things more.

As long as your always doing stuff you enjoy thats all that matters.

[Basil Ransom]

It depends on what else you'd be doing with the time. It's probably better than watching TV, but not much else. You aren't going to get any money, pussy or (usually) friends from it. But it is a relatively cheap hobby, so if you have time to burn, it's not a bad way to go.

No worse than spectating professional sports, for the most part.

I used to play videogames a lot, but no longer do, if only because I don't have a console or powerful computer. I couldn't get into it, because I'd be committing to wasting hundreds of hours.

Imagine being offered the chance to snort cocaine. You might rationalize doing it once, because it would have no long term effect on you or your health. But if you were forced to choose doing it a hundred times and none at all, you'd see the risk to your health, not to mention the likelihood that you'd form an expensive dangerous addiction. It'd be easier to avoid it altogether that way. By buying a videogame, you're basically committing to spending 20-100 hours right then and there.

[Gunner]

I like Zelda and this week I'm going to buy the new one.

[mofo]

Can you imagine any true international playboy playing video games?

[WesternCancer]

I agree with the people saying "in moderation" or that its a great outlet. If you're not near a gym or are too tired to go theres nothing better to get rage out than killing shit in videogames.

In highschool whenever id get a game id play it as much as possible, 10hrs a day for a week. I hated it at times but I was compelled to finish. A few weeks ago I got skyrim (exact type of addictive game). Played it like i used to for a weekend and then realized how pathetic it was leveling up an imaginary skill to get an imaginary item where i could be leveling up real life skills and having fun doing it. I still play games like COD but RPGs or anything extremely time consuming is out for me.

[mofo]

I wasted a lot of time with video games when I was a teenager. I regret it. I don't recommend playing video games to anybody ( maybe girls ).

[Cr33pin]

i play lots of video games in the winter when im hibernating. to cold to be outside, never really shit going on, so i just buckle down an game....Skyrim an MW3 are taking up tons of my free time.... free time i should prally be trying to learn spanish

[Dash Global]

(12-18-2011 04:11 PM)Cr33pin Wrote:  

i play lots of video games in the winter when im hibernating. to cold to be outside, never really shit going on, so i just buckle down an game....Skyrim an MW3 are taking up tons of my free time.... free time i should prally be trying to learn spanish

when im not working, eating, clubbing, workingout, or playing sports im on that Skyrim and getting my spanish bullet proof.

[Prowl]

w/e, I travel all over the world for work, go out all the time, and generally feel like I have/have had a very interesting life.

I love the shit out of some video games. I collect games/consoles and I've got well over 150 pieces of hardware, including stuff that was never released, development hardware, prototypes, testing stations, retail kiosks, etc.

Granted, this is really a collecting/development hobby, not like "durr I play CoD 8hrs/day". I still like to play a lot though, lately I've been playing a bunch of PC Engine CD shooters.

Fuck it, any interest/passion in anything is a positive. I collect tons of strange esoteric things and this gives me broad exposure to a lot of knowledge and allows me to converse on a wide variety of subjects. I collect everything from vintage vacuum tube electronics to 80s'/90's video games to early 1900's political buttons, pepperbox revolvers, 19th century denim, 60's British motorcycles, Life Magazine, etc etc and etc. This is stuff that has shaped and defined the modern world we live in, especially pop culture, and I add value to a conversation when I can provide context for something that others may not be aware of (as long as I'm not doing it every 90 seconds and being a show-off try-hard douche about it).

I don't play a lot of modern games outside of 1st party Nintendo stuff and GT5. I don't really play first-person shooters.

[Ehnulo]

A general rule I follow with hobbies is they should fulfill more than one purpose (never just pleasure). This way your time is always spent in positive ways.

Playing sports > fun, exercise, social
Reading books > interesting, mentally challenging, learn new skills
Playing an instrument > calming, develops artistic talent, attractive

Video games are the anti-thesis of this. Specifically tailored to require no thought, no discipline, gives no new talents, etc. Some will say it doesn't matter and "do what you love." I say be more scrutinizing with your time and make sure there's a long term benefit in everything you do.

[kbell]

I'm actually an aspiring game artist. I went to college for animation but got into 3d modelling there seriously. The odd thing is you have no free time when you do the art. Its one of the most difficult ones out there, although its a bit easier than 3d animation. I also took an online course with one of the lead artist of bioware who worked on the latest Star Wars game. Great guy into crossfit too.

If your interested in seeing my work pm me.

[RipSaw]

Have any of you guys who like shooting games tried shooting actual guns as a hobby? I could count on one hand how many times I've played video games in my life but I've got a closet full of guns that I shoot a few times a week. Guns are fun, it take skill to shoot well, you could collect different types your entire life and still only own a drop in bucket, ballistics are interesting if you like science... I could go on.
I've always wondered why guys who like shooter games don't pick up a real gun. Plus, it's a skill every dude should have.